Early commenters on the project were neither impressed nor convinced by the lengthy presentation. Four of the first six people to comment on it called for a full environmental impact statement review of the plan.

The preserve wants Planning Board approval to "re-purpose" the existing gatehouse building and trail that once introduced visitors to Mohonk Mountain House.

To accomplish that, consultants said the project would require a total of 113 parking spaces near the gatehouse and the existing Hasbrouck House.

Landscape architect Peter Karis told the board the parking areas would be invisible from Route 299 and would require minimal tree removal.

Karis cited the area's history by saying the 536-acre area constantly has been renovated since Mohonk's earliest horse-and-buggy days.

Bruce Simon, a lawyer who lives on Butterville Road and who bought his home from Mohonk's Smiley family in 1998, urged the board to dismiss the application out of hand.

He had bought his house from what he called "the old Mohonk."

"But this is a development," he said. Because the preserve has acknowledged it has further plans for the property that it did not disclose, the project should be rejected because of what he called the "segmentation" of the overall project.